William Freed, obtained his bachelors degree from Rutgers University and attended graduate school at the University of Kansas, where he obtained Master's and Ph.D. degrees working with Joseph Mendelson and Elias K. Michaelis. During graduate school he gained experience in the neuroscience of motivation with Dr. Mendelson and neuropharmacology and biochemistry with Dr. Michaelis. After completing a Ph.D. he worked as a scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Intramural Research Program, at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) from 1977 to 1997 and at the National Institute on Drug Abuse from 1997 to 2015. While working at the NIMH, he was one of the scientists who performed the first studies showing that cells could be transplanted into the brain to improve motor function in animal models of Parkinson's disease. At the NIH he also worked on several additional topics including cell adhesion molecules in mental illness, development of techniques for modifying cells in vitro, development of in vitro stem cell model systems, and production of dopamine neurons from human embryonic stem cells. During the years prior to retirement his work focused on understanding how cocaine interferes with development of the human brain. He currently maintains a position of Adjunct Professor in the Department of Biology, Lebanon Valley College, Annville, Pennsylvania and is a Fellow Emeritus in the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and the American Society for Neural Therapy and Repair.